Rosario Murillo

Rosario Maria Murillo Zambrana, born June 22, 1951, in Managua, is a Nicaraguan politician and poet who has served as co-president of Nicaragua alongside her husband, Daniel Ortega, since February 2025. She joined the Sandinista National Liberation Front in 1969, worked at the newspaper La Prensa in the 1970s, was arrested in 1976 for political activity, and fled Nicaragua before meeting Ortega abroad and marrying him in a secret 1979 ceremony shortly before the Sandinistas overthrew the Somoza government. She served as First Lady during two periods, 1979 to 1990 and 2007 to 2025, and as Vice President from 2017 to 2025 after running as Ortega's vice-presidential candidate in 2016. In November 2024, Ortega proposed constitutional amendments extending his term and creating a co-presidency with Murillo; the reforms passed and took effect February 18, 2025, formally elevating her to the unprecedented co-president role.